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There are references to a West Torrens team dating back to the 1870s but the modern club was formed in 1897 to compete in the SANFL. In its 93-year history, West Torrens won only four premierships and spent much of its existence at the foot of the premiership table.

Despite their relative lack of team success, winning only four SANFL Premierships and one Night Premiership in their history (1924, 1933, 1945, 1953 and 1983 (night)), West Torrens boasted some of the best individual players ever to play Australian rules football. Players such as 1946 and 1947 Magarey Medallist, 1953 All-Australian and 1953 premiership captain Bob Hank, triple Magarey Medal winner (1955, 1958 & 1963), 1956 All-Australian and '53 premiership player Lindsay Head and former Australian Test CricketerNeil Hawke were all star players for the club.

The club reached the finals for the last time in 1980 and by 1982 there were calls for West Torrens to merge with another club. In 1990, with the imminent entry of the South Australian-based Adelaide Crows into the national Australian Football League (AFL), it was decided that West Torrens and Woodville would amalgamate. In an apt moment, Woodville and West Torrens were drawn to play each other in their respective final games. The two sides merged after the completion of the 1990 season and have since participated in the SANFL as the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles.

Matthew Rendell: A 200 cm / 102 kg ruckman who played 79 games for West Torrens before playing 164 games for the Fitzroy Football Club in the VFL and winning two best and fairests in 1982/83. He played a further 13 games for Brisbane Lions after the merger between the Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy. Matthew's two brothers Tim and Steven also played for West Torrens.

Peter Kelly : Small in height but nevertheless a strong and menacing enforcer, who was much more than a hard man, he was also a fantastic leader of men. A former captain who played over 150 games for the Eagles during the 70's. Most famous for being the Captain of West Torrens in that memorable match at Thebarton oval in 1975 against West Adelaide when the Eagles had 19 on the field. Peter was also a fantastic amateur boxer. Both of Peter's sons Ryan Kelly and Trent Kelly played reserves for the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles in the 2000s, Trent went on to play state cricket for both South Australia & Western Australia and Ryan represented South Australia in the D1 SAAFL state side against Victoria in 2007.